Articles

New York, USA: On 20 September 2013, Brand Africa in association with Brand Finance, TNS and African Business, named MTN and Coca Cola the Most Admired and Valuable African and Global Brand in Africa at the African Business Magazine African Business Awards held at the Mandarin Oriental in New York, USA.

Feedback from over 300 senior executives in the Brand Marketing industry, including a sample of Brand Owners responsible for an estimated R8 billion in marketing spend, indicates that the sector needs to take urgent action. "The industry needs a shake- up to ensure that it brings long-term economic, social and cultural value to South Africa," says David Blyth, Brand Council of South Africa (BCSA) board director.

Coming soon... results from the Brand Council South Africa (BCSA)’s inaugural Brand Marketing Barometer survey, to be announced at the end of August have shown that the local marketing industry is undervalued and underperforming in its judgement of itself.

There seems to be a growing assumption, certainly in some circles, that focusing on traditional (top-down) brandcrafting is becoming less important in the digital age. As companies move into the online space, questions are being raised as to whether money allocated to carefully defining and developing a single minded (and often static) identity is money well spent or whether it wouldn’t be better spent on listening to consumers, engaging in conversations on social media or pulling prices down in an online store.